Dorcas Group

The DORCAS Entrepreneurial Bank is made up of nine members, eight women and one man. Martha is the president of the bank. She is 50 years old, pictured above in the patterned blouse and the brown purse. She is married with two little children, and she works selling food from her own home. This loan is her first cycle with this institution, and she will use this loan to purchase ingredients such as oil, potatoes, and various foodstuffs.

Martha faces challenges in her business such as competition, as there are several people who are also dedicated to the sale of food, but Martha serves puts good seasoning in her food and treats her customers very kindly, so they them come to her. She hopes to continue making sales through her business and one day have a restaurant.This will allow her to provide a greater level of comfort for her customers, to grow her business, increase her income, and in the end improve the quality of life for herself and her family.

Additional Information

About Emprender

Emprender has been working in Bolivia since 1999. It is dedicated to becoming a key tool in the development of its clients and the improvement of their quality of life. Operating in three of Bolivia’s major cities – La Paz, Cochabamba, and Santa Cruz – Emprender offers both urban and rural clients the opportunity to obtain financial products tailored to fit their needs and businesses. These products include housing loans, salary loans, “opportunity” (short-term) loans, and higher education loans. To better the quality of life for its clients and non-clients through non-financial services, Emprender offers free medical consultations and health classes given by trained doctors.

This is a Group Loan

In a group loan, each member of the group receives an individual loan but is part of a larger group of individuals. The group is there to provide support to the members and to provide a system of peer pressure, but groups may or may not be formally bound by a group guarantee. In cases where there is a group guarantee, members of the group are responsible for paying back the loans of their fellow group members in the case of delinquency or default.

Kiva's Field Partners typically feature one borrower from a group. The loan description, sector, and other attributes for a group loan profile are determined by the featured borrower's loan. The other members of the group are not required to use their loans for the same purpose.